One Red Rose
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Carrie stays in Paris with Aleksandr, and later, when tragedy strikes, they have some important decisions to make together.
1. First Night In Paris

As I lay there in the darkness, my back facing Aleksandr's, I began to cry. Life in Paris hadn't turned out to be what I'd expected at all. I was miserable, and I wanted to go home. My ruined party had been the last straw. My chest heaved in loud, gasping sobs. I didn't even care if he heard me.

"Carrie?" He had.

"Hold me, Alex." I longed to be held and comforted, even by him. I felt his arms encircle me and hold me tight, felt the warm softness of his body against mine, and my mind went back to the time I'd been standing with him on the pier in New York, how I'd told him I was cold and he'd held his arms out to me. Life with Aleksandr may never be exactly the way I wanted it to be, but I knew that my Russian would always be there to keep me warm when I was cold or lonely.

"Make love to me," I said. "I feel so all alone right now..."

He showered my face with kisses, then gradually moved lower, pushing my clothing aside as his warm, wet lips left a trail of moisture on my flesh. My fingers swept gently through his hair as I tingled all over, my aching center yearning for his touch, until suddenly he was there, the thrill of his touch sending me cascading right over the edge.

"Please...I want to feel you inside me..." I moaned.

"Patience, my dear," he chuckled, and when I couldn't stand it any more, he entered me and began to thrust. All memories of the loneliness and disappointment I'd felt since arriving in Paris simply melted away at his loving ministrations. I cried out in ecstasy a second time, and seconds later, I heard him moaning and grunting his own release.

Afterwards he held me and caressed me tenderly. "I'm sorry about your party," he whispered.

"It was my fault," I told him. "I knew how things were probably going to turn out at the exhibit. I should have left as soon as I realized you didn't need me there anymore."

"We'll talk more about it tomorrow, 'k?" he murmured sleepily.

I awoke the following morning to find myself alone in bed, but one red rose lay on Aleksandr's pillow. A scented note accompanied it. On the note was a brief message in my Russian's handwriting. "Dearest Carrie, You are never alone. Even when I can't be there with you physically, you are still in my heart. Love, Sasha."

I smiled as I closed my eyes again.


	2. Chloe

A short time later, I arose and fixed myself breakfast. While eating, I debated what to do for the day and decided to pay another visit to the bookstore I'd gone to the previous day. Perhaps one of my new friends would be there, and I could explain what had happened the previous night.

I arrived to find the bookstore almost completely deserted. Disappointed, I turned to leave when the cashier called to me. "Excuse me, but are you Carrie Bradshaw?"

"Yes, I am!" I practically shouted. "I'm looking for the people I was supposed to meet up with last night. I wanted to apologize for not being able to make it to the party. At the last minute, my boyfriend needed me to do something with him, and I couldn't cancel out because I didn't have anyone's telephone number."

"Oh, I know who you mean!" the cashier exclaimed with a smile. "I remember overhearing the conversation you had with them yesterday. They come in here all the time. The next time I see them, I'll tell them what you said."

Feeling immensely better about the ruined party, I set out to see what further adventures I could find on my second day of roaming around Paris. I saw the little girl who'd hit me in the head and then stuck her tongue out at me the previous day riding on her father's shoulders again. I made a mean face at her, and she burst out crying.

I realized that now that I was no longer working, I had a tremendous amount of free time in the daytime. Surely seeing all the sights of Paris wouldn't take longer than two or three weeks at the most. What should I do after that? Look for a new job? Write a new book?

I turned a corner, and a park filled with running, laughing children came into view. I felt the familiar ache as I thought of Miranda and her son Brady, Charlotte and her new baby girl from China. I remembered Aleksandr telling me that he wouldn't change his mind about his vasectomy. Tears came to my eyes as I desperately tried to think of something else.

I had lunch in one of the fanciest diners in Paris. With Aleksandr, money was no object. After that, I went to an afternoon movie and then back to the apartment.

It was the second night of Aleksandr's exhibition, so he wasn't nearly as nervous as he'd been the first night. I'd resigned myself to a quiet night of French television and wine when my doorbell rang, and there stood the man and one of the women from the bookstore.

"I'm Gerard, and this is Aimee," the man told me. "The cashier at the bookstore told us that you came in and explained what happened with your boyfriend last night. Is he all right now?"

"Oh, yes! He's much better now," I replied. "He was just feeling really anxious because it was the first night of his exhibition. Won't you come in?"

It turned out they'd brought leftovers from the previous night's party, so we had a really nice time eating and drinking, talking and laughing. The party was just winding down when Aleksandr got home.

"Oh, you have company," he remarked.

"This is Gerard and Aimee," I told him. "They're a couple of the people I was supposed to meet at my party last night."

"How do you do," Aleksandr said in a voice completely devoid of enthusiasm. "I'm very tired, and I'm going to bed now. You may carry on."

Gerard and Aimee left shortly after that. Aleksandr was already snoring by the time I joined him in bed.

* * *

><p>For several weeks, life went on in a similar manner. I explored Paris by day and socialized with my new friends in the evenings. Aleksandr's exhibition eventually ended, and he had more time to devote to me. He pampered and spoiled me just as he had when we'd been in New York. Many times we passed by the park with the running and laughing children, and every time we did, the yearning within me grew greater and greater, yet I knew that I dare not say a word about it to Aleksandr.<p>

Then came the day I returned from an outing with my friends to find him sitting shaky and pale, all the color drained from his face.

"It's Chloe," he told me. "She's been in an accident. A terrible one."


	3. Change Of Heart

I felt terrible for Aleksandr as I sat at his side looking at his daughter lying so pale and still, hooked up to machines. I'd only met Chloe a handful of times so didn't know her very well, but I knew how devoted her father was to her and how devastated he'd been when this had happened.

Chloe's mother Juliette sat on the other side of her bed. My one awkward lunch date with her had taken place right after my arrival in Paris. Although some fifteen years or so older than me, she was still very stylish and chic and had made me feel just a tad insecure. That was the last thing on my mind now as the three of us sat there silently.

As I waited, the song that Aleksandr had composed for me kept running through my mind. It was the first time anyone had ever written a song for me. Aleksandr was so talented, both musically and artistically. I couldn't even begin to imagine how he must feel right now.

"She's going to make it," Juliette said. "She's strong. Remember when she was six and had her tonsils out? We were so worried that there might be bleeding complications, but the day after her surgery she was sitting up in bed, smiling and eating ice cream."

"It was only a couple of years after that when she fell off her bike and had to have stitches on her elbow," Aleksandr added.

"I remember," Juliette chimed in. "You told her that if she was a brave girl and didn't cry when they were putting in the stitches, you'd buy her a puppy."

"That was when we got Pierre." Aleksandr chuckled at the memory. "What a good little dog he was!"

As Chloe's parents recalled fond memories of her childhood, I began to feel very left out. I was almost relieved when visiting hours were over and it was time to go home.

Back at the apartment, Aleksandr sat on the edge of the bed and cried. "I don't know what I'll do if I lose her," he sobbed. "I don't think I'll be able to go on."

"You're not going to lose her," I told him. "She's going to be fine." I held him as he wept.

"She's my only child," he continued. "I'll never have another one. If she doesn't make it..."

I didn't know what to say. How could I comfort the man I loved when he was faced with the prospect of possibly losing his only child?

* * *

><p>Several weeks went by, and Chloe's condition remained unchanged. The doctors weren't optimistic that she'd ever regain consciousness. Aleksandr and Juliette spent every possible minute by her bedside. My life changed dramatically as well. My heart still ached for my friends back in New York, and Paris had lost all its glamor and sparkle for me in the face of Aleksandr's deep grief. He was preoccupied for a different reason now, one that he obviously couldn't be faulted for.<p>

When we were together, he fell into the habit of showing me photographs of Chloe as a baby and as a little girl, relieving all those special moments with me.

One day he and I were going for a walk together when we came upon the same park I'd passed earlier. Aleksandr stood at the fence watching the children wistfully, as I'd often done myself.

"I'd always assumed I'd be a grandfather some day," he said. "Now I'm not sure about that at all."

"Of course you will," I replied in an attempt to cheer him up.

"I don't want to die all alone," he continued.

"How can you think about death on a beautiful day like today?" I asked him.

"Carrie." His voice held a very serious tone. "I know that I am old, but...how would you feel about you and I having a child together?"


	4. Aleksandr's Operation

I couldn't have been more shocked if he'd dumped a bucket of ice water over the top of my head.

"But you...you said you weren't going to change your mind about not having your vasectomy reversed," I stammered.

"I did," he agreed. "But that was before..."

"Before what happened to Chloe," I finished for him.

"Yes."

"So you want me to give you a baby to replace Chloe in case she dies?" I was unable to keep the surprise out of my voice.

"No, no," Aleksandr insisted. "Please don't talk like that. It's just that lately I've been doing a lot of thinking, remembering what Chloe was like as a baby, all the special times Juliette and I shared with her, and I think I'd like to experience that over again with you this time."

"Alex, I...I don't quite know what to say." It was as if a door that I had thought had been closed forever had suddenly been cracked open, and I wasn't sure whether I'd like what I saw on the other side or not.

"You don't have to say anything right now," Aleksandr told me. "Just think about it, all right?"

For several days, it was just about the only thing I _could _think about. I'd had such a busy life when I'd lived in New York. Between my job, my friends, and my blossoming relationship with Aleksandr, I'd had a pretty full plate. Yet here in Paris, things were radically different. I no longer had a job to go to, I hadn't started a new book yet, and my American friends were now far away. I needed a new challenge, something to fulfill me, and the idea of a child with Aleksandr seemed very attractive.

"I've been thinking about it," I told him several nights later. "And I think I like the idea of having a baby together with you very much."

"I'm glad." He smiled. "I'll contact my physician tomorrow about having my vasectomy reversed."

* * *

><p>The procedure was scheduled for a couple of weeks later. I accompanied Aleksandr to the hospital for moral support, and sat waiting with him until they called him back.<p>

The waiting room was almost completely deserted. The only other occupant besides myself was an old man sitting in a corner with his head back, snoring. There was a magazine rack stuffed with magazines, but they were all in French. I was about to take out the paperback I'd brought along to help pass the time when I noticed that one of the magazine covers looked familiar, I picked the magazine up to look at it more closely and realized that it was a photograph of part of Aleksandr's art exhibition.

Listlessly I flipped through it, noticing that it also contained a small photograph of myself and Aleksandr standing together. Vaguely I wondered whether the surgeon was familiar with Aleksandr's work and, if so, whether or not he or she felt awkward performing surgery on Aleksandr's manly parts.

At last my Russian emerged, looking really out of it and walking gingerly, his legs spread wide apart. "Everything went well," the nurse told me. "He can expect some soreness for a couple of days. Call us if there's any bleeding or other complications. He can resume sexual activity in two weeks."

Back at the apartment, Aleksandr immediately sank into the softest chair in the living room, gingerly clutching his crotch. Quickly I fetched a glass of orange juice for him to swallow his pain medication with. "Can I get you anything else?" I asked him.

"An ice pack," he said weakly. I found one in the freezer, and he sighed wearily as he clutched it to his crotch.

* * *

><p>He felt much better after a couple of days, and was able to resume his bedside vigil beside his daughter's bed. Every day I asked how she was doing, and every day he replied that her vitals were still stable but she hadn't regained consciousness yet. Many times at night, I heard him sobbing and longed to comfort him. All I could do was to hold him while he cried himself to sleep.<p>

I kept in touch with Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda by email. Samantha had finished her radiation and was still cancer-free, Charlotte and Harry were enjoying baby Lily, and Miranda and Steve were going through a divorce. I expressed my condolences to Miranda and told all three women about Chloe's accident and Aleksandr's vasectomy reversal. They all wished me the best and said that they hoped I'd be able to visit New York soon.


	5. Doing It Right

One afternoon, Aleksandr was actually smiling when he returned from his vigil at Chloe's bedside.

"She can move her eyes now!" he told me excitedly. "She can't open them yet, but you can see them moving back and forth underneath her eyelids. That means there _is _some brain activity going on."

"That's great!" I exclaimed.

He came to me and hugged me. I inhaled the woodsy scent of his aftershave and felt the silky smoothness of his shirt against the skin of my cheek. "I've also come to a decision regarding me and you and our relationship, Carrie."

My heart nearly stopped. After everything we'd been through together, was he about to break up with me?

"From now on, I think we should do things in the right order," Aleksandr continued. The next thing I knew, he was kneeling before me on one knee. "Carrie Bradshaw, will you marry me?"

Wow! I certainly hadn't been expecting that! I told him yes, of course. What else could I do?

The engagement ring he gave me was beautiful, a huge diamond set in gold.

"Do you like it?" he asked nervously.

"It's gorgeous!" I exclaimed, giving him a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. "So, when do you want to do it?"

"As soon as possible, of course," he replied. "I'll start contacting churches and see which one can do it the soonest."

"Church? But I thought you said you weren't particularly religious."

"I'm not," he replied. "But as I said before, I want to do it right this time, and that means a church wedding."

"What kind of church?"

"Russian Orthodox, of course."

"Was your first wedding in a Russian Orthodox church?"

"No. It was in a Roman Catholic church. That's what Juliette wanted. I was young."

"How old were you the first time you got married, Aleksandr?"

"That was...let's see, thirty years ago. I was twenty-three."

"And how long after that was Chloe born?"

"She was born five years later. We were young. We could afford to wait."

_Unlike me, _I thought, but I didn't say anything.

* * *

><p>We were married several weeks later in a Russian Orthodox church near our apartment in Paris. Miranda and Samantha were there, but Charlotte couldn't make it.<p>

"Wow, you look great!" I told Samantha.

"Thanks," she replied. "I feel like a new woman."

Miranda had brought Brady with her. "Hi, sweetheart!" I exclaimed, reaching for him. "You remember your Aunt Carrie, don't you?"

The ceremony was beautiful. Aleksandr wore a navy blue tuxedo, and I wore a lacy white gown. Some of the new friends I'd made in Paris came as well, and Aleksandr's colleagues from the art world were there, too.

_This is really it, _I told myself as I stood before the priest exchanging vows with the man I loved. _After all these years of searching for true love, of going from one man to another, I've finally found my heart's desire. _I knew that there might be rough patches to go through along the way, but we'd work through them together. Aleksandr and I were committed to one another and to our relationship.

He's spared no expense on the lavish reception following the ceremony. Table after table were laden with expensive hors d'oeuvres, and the four-tiered wedding cake had cost hundred of dollars. I flitted from table to table, greeting my guests and sampling the many culinary treats available. I looked over at Aleksandr and saw that he looked truly happy for the first time since Chloe's accident.

After everyone had left, my new husband took me on a romantic boat ride down the Seine. Underneath the stars we lounged on pillows enjoying the view of the scenery lining France's most romantic river and the feel of the cool breeze on our faces.

"Paris has got to be the most romantic city in the world," I said contentedly. "I'm so glad we got married here."

"So am I," Aleksandr agreed. "It's always been my favorite city in the world. I like it even better than St. Petersburg."

"Is that where you were born?" I asked him.

"Yes, but it was called Leningrad then."

"How long since the last time you were there?"

"It's been a few years. Three or four. I'll take you there someday. You'll love it."

In no hurry to return to the motel, we stayed on the Seine until the wee hours of the morning. As we entered our luxurious room afterwards, the fatigue hit me like a ton of bricks, and I almost collapsed.

"Whoa!" Aleksandr laughed as he steadied me. "The night's only just begun!"

He carried me to the bed and made love to me with an abandon he never had before, and as I slowly drifted to sleep wrapped tightly in his arms afterwards, I knew that everything was going to be all right from now on.


	6. Not This Month

It was almost noon the next day when I awakened and looked into Aleksandr's smiling face. "Good morning, Mrs. Petrovsky," he said.

"Good morning yourself, Mr. Petrovsky," I replied.

"Every morning is a good morning when I wake up beside you," he told me.

"Oh, you're so romantic!" I giggled.

"Well, shall we go for breakfast?" he asked.

The motel had a breakfast buffet. Aleksandr fed me French toast just like he'd fed me pancakes the morning after the first night we'd slept together. "You do realize that, if not for Chloe's situation, I'd take you on a cruise around the world," he told me.

"Of course," I replied. "I understand."

We did ride through the tunnel between France and England, which was something I'd longed to do since it had been constructed, and we spent several weeks touring England, Scotland, and Ireland. We rode the London Eye and visited many lovely castles, gardens, and museums. I kept a journal every day, committing to memory all the sights we'd seen and new things I'd experienced, and I sent loads of postcards to my friends back home. I began to consider writing another book, perhaps one on married life, although I was still so very new at it that there's no way I could have even pretended to be an expert on it.

Upon our return to Paris, cold, hard reality slapped me in the face once again. The first thing Aleksandr wanted to do was to visit Chloe in the hospital, of course, and I accompanied him.

She'd made progress while we'd been away. Although she still couldn't move or speak, her eyes were open for much longer periods of time now, and they seemed to contain at least some degree of comprehension.

"Hello, darling," said Aleksandr, sitting beside her bed and taking her hand into his own. "How have you been? I've sure missed you! Carrie and I have just returned from our honeymoon. We went to the British Isles. Remember going there with your Mom and me when you were little? Remember watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace? I remember how you loved listening to Big Ben chime. Remember riding the tube, and those long escalators that people run up and down? They're still there."

I wondered how much of what her father was telling her Chloe really understood. Did she realize that Aleksandr and I were married now? If so, how did she feel about having me for a stepmother?

We stayed at the hospital together until visiting hours were over and then returned to our apartment. Aleksandr looked dejected.

"She seems to be doing a lot better to me," I told him.

"I know," he said quietly. "But she still has so far to go. I just can't help but wonder whether she'll ever walk or talk again, whether she'll ever be able to live an independent life."

"Everything's going to be all right." I gave him a comforting hug.

Later, we made love slowly and leisurely, as much out of a wish to comfort one another as out of desire. Idly, I wondered whether or not I'd conceived already. We'd resumed our sex life as quickly as it had been medically advisable, but we'd been warned that vasectomy reversals had only a fifty percent success rate, plus I knew that I was no longer as fertile as I'd been in my twenties and early thirties. It was, of course, far too soon to know whether or not we'd have to explore other options in becoming parents.

* * *

><p>Life for me settled back into a predictable routine. Bored with having so much free time on my hands, I began to volunteer at the local library. I also struggled to improve my French, spending hours poring over instruction manuals and phrase books and even practicing with Aleksandr.<p>

With the spring came the rain, and I spent many cozy afternoons snuggling in the recliner with a book while listening to the raindrops hit the window.

My period arrived a couple of weeks after we returned from our honeymoon. Although I tried to tell myself that I shouldn't feel _too _discouraged, that it was, after all, only our first month of trying, I'm sure my disappointment must have shown on my face, as I could see the sympathy in Aleksandr's face when I saw him next.

"Not this month," I told him.

He gave me a hug that said more than words could have.


	7. Talking With Chloe

Chloe continued to improve, defying all expectations. "She has youth on her side," the physician told us. "That's a tremendous advantage."

The weekend before Easter, Aleksandr came home very excited. "She said her first words since the accident!" he exclaimed.

"Wow, that's great!" I replied. "What was it?"

"She said 'I'm thirsty'."

"So is she able to eat and drink now?"

"She can drink water through a straw. They're talking about starting her on solid food soon." He came to me and put his arms around me. "It's just like starting all over again with a little baby, Carrie. First liquids, then solid foods..." Suddenly he sounded as if he were about to cry.

_How ironic that he should mention babies, _I told myself. I suddenly wondered whether Aleksandr and I were doing the right thing at the right time. After all, Aleksandr didn't need _two _babies to take care of...

I was almost relieved when my period came again that month, and the next.

Summer arrived, and with it, the long days and mild heat that were also typical of New York. I still kept in touch with my friends there regularly. Miranda and Charlotte posted so many pictures of their children on Facebook that I was constantly reminded of how badly I really did want to have Aleksandr's baby.

By now Chloe was awake and speaking for long periods of time, and even had some use of her arms. They'd started her on physical therapy for an hour every evening.

"She wants to see you," Aleksandr told me one evening. The next day, I accompanied him to the hospital.

Chloe was sitting propped up by pillows in bed, looking remarkably healthier than she had the last time I'd seen her.

"Hi, Chloe!" I went to her and hugged her gingerly. "It's good to see you doing so well!"

"Hi, Carrie," she said. "It's good to see you again. My Dad talks about you all the time, so I told him to bring you along next time he came to see me."

"Does he really?"

"Really what?"

"Talk about me."

"Oh, yes! All the time. He says you make him feel young again. I haven't seen him this happy since...since before he and Mom got divorced."

"How old were you when that happened?"

"Twelve." She suddenly looked very sad.

"That must have been so hard for you."

"Oh, it was! Both of them tried to be especially nice to me afterwards to make up for it, but I was still devastated that they didn't love each other anymore."

"And you don't resent me or feel like I'm trying to take your mother's place?"

"Oh, no. I'm used to things being the way they are now between my parents. After all, that was half a lifetime ago for me."

"I'm glad." I smiled at her. "I really hope that you and I can be friends."

She smiled back. "I hope so, too."

* * *

><p>My period didn't come when I expected it to in July. Not wanting to get my hopes up prematurely, I waited to see if I developed any further symptoms. In early August, my breasts became very swollen, and I started feeling queasy when I smelled, or even thought of, meat. I decided to wait until I knew for sure to tell Aleksandr, but he guessed it before then when he heard me throwing up in the bathroom one morning.<p>

"Are you all right?" he asked me anxiously when I came out.

"I think so," I told him. "It's just..."

As he caught my eye, he gave me a knowing smile. I smiled back. We just stood there, gazing into one another's eyes and smiling, for a long time.


	8. The Ultrasound

I made an appointment with an OB/GYN soon afterwards. "Congratulations," she told me. "You're definitely pregnant, all right."

"Great!" I exclaimed.

"Based on the date of your last menstrual period, I'd put your due date at about the middle of April. I'm going to schedule another appointment for you in two weeks. We'll do an ultrasound then."

Wow! I remembered Miranda showing me her ultrasound pictures when she'd been pregnant with Brady. _Now it's my turn, _I told myself.

I couldn't wait to tell Aleksandr about my visit to the doctor. I knew that he was with Chloe in the hospital, so I decided to just share my news with both of them at the same time.

I arrived to find Chloe sitting up in bed talking and laughing with her father. "Carrie!" Aleksandr said when he saw me. "Come on in!"

"Hi," I said. "How has your morning been?"

"I stood up for the first time in physical therapy today," Chloe said proudly. "They're going to start me walking holding onto parallel bars soon."

"That's great!" I exclaimed.

"And how has your morning been, darling?" Aleksandr asked me.

"I went to the doctor this morning, and guess what?" I began.

Aleksandr grinned. "You are?"

"Yes! Yes, I am!" I replied, nodding.

"That's wonderful!" he exclaimed as he embraced me.

Chloe looked puzzled. "You're going to be a big sister soon!" her father told her.

She looked shocked. "You're not serious!"

Aleksandr and I just sat holding hands and smiling.

"You _are?" _she asked incredulously. "But Dad, you told me a long time ago that you didn't want any more children!"

"Well, I met Carrie, and then I changed my mind," Aleksandr told her.

"But Dad, you're so _old!" _Chloe protested. "By the time the baby finishes school, you'll be in your seventies!"

"Thanks, Chloe." Aleksandr chuckled. "I feel so much better now!"

"I mean it, Dad." Chloe was frowning darkly. "It's silly to start over again at your age."

Aleksandr looked woebegone, and I was beginning to feel really depressed myself. The rest of the visit was awkward, and Aleksandr and I left soon afterward. "I didn't realize it was going to make Chloe so unhappy," he told me when we got home.

"Are you saying that if you'd known how she was going to react, you wouldn't have had the vasectomy reversed?" I asked.

He shook his head, not saying a word.

It wasn't until later that I realized that I'd completely forgotten to mention my ultrasound appointment to him.

* * *

><p>"I have an appointment for an ultrasound on the twenty-second," I told him the following morning over breakfast. "I'd love it if you could go with me."<p>

"Our first view of our new little one," he replied with a smile. "Of course I'll be there!"

For days I happily looked forward to holding hands with my husband as we viewed the tiny miracle we'd created together for the very first time, but the night before my appointment, Aleksandr had disappointing news.

"I'm afraid I can't accompany you to the doctor tomorrow," he told me. "I have a very important meeting with my agent tomorrow morning."

"It can't be postponed?" I felt as if my balloon of happiness had just been deflated.

"No, it can't. I'm sorry, Carrie. Can your appointment be rescheduled?"

"I don't think so." I'd looked forward to this event for too long, and I wasn't about to try to reschedule it. With or without Aleksandr, I was going.

Luckily, Aimee told me she'd accompany me to the appointment. She and I had become close friends since my arrival in Paris. She and her friends Claudette and Nadine had formed my new circle of friends in my new home, but I was closer to Aimee than I was to either of the others.

The following morning, I lay back on the examination table with my still-flat belly exposed while the ultrasound technician smeared cold gel onto it. A few seconds later, a dark blob came into view on the screen.

I watched in awe as the technician pointed out my baby's head and beating heart, and the buds that would soon become its arms and legs. "Wow!" I exclaimed, grinning at Aimee. She grinned back.

The technician printed out a series of photographs, and then the receptionist made an appointment for me to return in another month. On the way home, I stopped in at a small boutique to look at the adorable baby boy and baby girl outfits. I couldn't wait to find out which to start shopping for.

In the meantime, I looked forward to sharing the ultrasound photographs with my husband.


	9. Seeing Samantha Again

Aleksandr had returned from his appointment with his agent and was in his studio working when I got back from my doctor's appointment. "Hello!" he said with a smile when he saw me. "How did it go at the doctor's?"

I grinned as I showed him the ultrasound pictures. "See, here's the head...and these will be the arms and legs..."

"Well, that's great!" He grinned, then took me into his arms. "I love you, Carrie."

"I love you, too," I told him.

After showing my husband the ultrasound pictures, I spent most of the afternoon telling my friends back in the United States about my doctor's appointment and scanning my ultrasound pictures to send to them.

Aleksandr actually stayed home that night. He prepared a delicious dinner for us, and afterwards we took a shower together. He took special care in tenderly washing my still-flat belly and even squatted down to kiss it. Unlike before, I found my husband's Old World charm adorable now. Right after our shower, we made love and then drifted off to sleep in one another's arms.

A couple of weeks later, I received exciting news. "I'm coming to Paris to promote a new movie," Samantha told me. "Smith is coming with me, and so's my nephew Ryan. They both have parts in the movie."

I went to meet them at the airport the day they arrived. Although the last time had been less than a year before, it felt as if I hadn't seen Samantha in a very long time. Her nephew Ryan was a very nice-looking man of about thirty, tall with dark hair and eyes.

"Welcome to Paris!" I exclaimed. "I can't wait to show you guys around!"

I took them to lunch and then showed them some of the main tourist attractions: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, etc., and then they got settled into their motel rooms and I went back to our apartment, where Aleksandr and I had a quiet dinner together.

"So, how did it go with your friends?" he asked me.

"It went fine," I told him. "Ryan's really nice. I showed them around some. They start work on the movie in a couple of days. How's Chloe?"

He smiled. "She's doing really well. I took her outside in a wheelchair for a little while. She was so happy to be out of the hospital."

"I'll bet," I replied. "Has she gotten used to the idea of the baby yet?" I hadn't been back to see Chloe since the day her father and I had told her about the pregnancy.

"Oh yes, she's fine with it now. She just had a little trouble getting used to it at first."

"That's understandable, I suppose. She's been an only child for so long."

"Well, not exactly. Juliette has a son, you know."

"No, I didn't know." I was shocked. "Really?"

"She remarried several years after our divorce. Chloe has a half brother, Rene. He's about nine or ten. He's a good boy."

"I wonder why she never mentioned him to me. Is she still married to his father?"

"No, they divorced a couple of years ago."

"Are Chloe and Rene close?"

"They get along all right. He lives half the year in Canada with his father."

"I've always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister," I said wistfully.

"Poor little Carrie." He came to me and hugged me. "My brother and sister drove me crazy sometimes while we were growing up, but now I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world."

"Why don't you ever talk about them?"

He shrugged. "We're adults now. We all have our own lives. It's hard to stay in touch, but we're always there for each other."

"Why haven't either one of them been to see Chloe?"

"They both lead very busy lives. It's hard for them to get away. They ask about her all the time, though."

A few days later, Aleksandr came home looking particularly happy and excited. "Chloe's being moved to a rehab center tomorrow," he told me.

"Wow, she must be doing a whole lot better now," I said. I went to visit my stepdaughter as soon as she was settled in the rehab center. She was sitting up in bed smiling and looking just as healthy as she had the first time I'd seen her.

"Carrie!" she exclaimed.

"Chloe!" I went to her and hugged her. "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's nice to see you again, too," she replied. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. Remember Samantha from the wedding? She's in town with her boyfriend and nephew. She's promoting a new movie that they're both in."

"Great!" said Chloe. "Maybe they could come by and visit sometime."

"I'm sure they'd be happy to," I replied.


	10. Feeling The Baby Move

To be honest, I wasn't really sure at all how Samantha, Smith and Ryan would react to the suggestion that they spend part of one of the few free days they'd have in Paris visiting a convalescent in a rehab center. After all, I was sure they'd prefer to spend all the time they could seeing the sights and having fun.

To my surprise, all three of them were OK with the idea. "After all, you were always there for me when I had my breast cancer scare," Samantha reminded me. "Of course I'll be there for your stepdaughter."

It was a bright, sunny day, and Aleksandr, Chloe, and myself were having a picnic on the grounds of the rehab center when they arrived.

"You remember Samantha," I said to my husband and stepdaughter. "And this is Smith and Ryan."

"It's very nice to meet you," Aleksandr said as he shook hands with them both.

"Hey!" Ryan said to Chloe. "I heard you had a run-in with a tree and lost."

"I did." She laughed. "But I'm doing much better now."

"You look great!" he replied. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

"Sure!" Chloe agreed.

The rest of us watched as he rolled her wheelchair down the sidewalk.

"So how are things back in New York?" I asked Samantha.

"Everyone's fine," she told me. "Brady's well into the terrible two's. Boy, can he throw some tantrums! Lily's such a little sweetheart. And she's so smart! She's already learning to walk and talk."

Hearing her talk about my friends back home made me feel slightly melancholy. "You miss them, don't you?" Aleksandr asked softly. He patted my hand underneath the table.

"Yeah, but that's OK," I replied. "I have new friends now, and I enjoy living here with you."

Ryan and Chloe seemed to take an unusually long time to return from their walk, and when they did, they were talking and laughing animatedly together.

"It certainly looks like Chloe has made a new friend," Aleksandr remarked.

* * *

><p>Samantha, Smith and Ryan were in Paris promoting their movie for several weeks, and during that time, Ryan and Chloe saw one another almost every day and became very close. None of us were surprised when Ryan decided to stay on indefinitely after the others went back to New York.<p>

"It looks like my Chloe has found love," Aleksandr said to me one day as we were walking in the park. "She's only a couple of years older now than I was when I married her mother."

"That's young," I said. "How did you meet her?" I was suddenly very curious.

"It was at one of my very first art shows," he told me. "I was a very young artist, just getting started. I noticed Juliette looking at one of my abstracts. 'What's it supposed to be?' she asked me. 'What do you want it to be?' I asked her. 'It looks rather like two people kissing,' she said. We were together from that moment on."

"How did you feel when you found out Chloe was on the way?" I asked.

"I was a bit ambivalent at first,' he told me. "I wasn't sure at all how a baby would fit into my life, but when she was born and I saw how tiny, yet perfect, she was, I knew that I'd find a way."

* * *

><p>One cool night in November, I was lying on the sofa reading beside the crackling fireplace when I heard the door open and, to my surprise, Aleksandr entered bearing two big bags.<p>

"I thought there was an exhibition tonight," I told him.

"It was canceled," he said. I watched as he sat the bags on the table and withdrew a bottle of wine, a block of cheese, salad fixings, dip, and bread sticks. "I brought us some refreshments."

I helped him make the salad, and he made a virgin pina colada for me. After we ate, we cuddled beside the fireplace drinking hot chocolate. I was lying with my head in his lap and he was rubbing my back when I felt it. At first I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but the second time I felt it, I knew for sure.

"Our baby just moved, Alex," I told my husband.

His eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Mm hm." I smiled, took his hand, and placed it on my belly where I'd felt the movement before. A few seconds later it happened again.

He smiled in wonder. "Oh, Carrie, I love you!" he said as he hugged and kissed me.


	11. Our First Christmas Together

My first Christmas in Paris turned out to be a joyous event. Although I missed my friends in New York, I enjoyed the Christmas party my new friends in Paris threw. Aleksandr wasn't able to attend due to a last-minute business-related issue, but I went alone and had a very nice time.

Unsure about what to get my husband for Christmas, I went around the retail shops in Paris until I found something I knew he'd love: cuff links in the shape of tiny Eiffel towers. In addition, I bought a bottle of his favorite cologne and, after a great deal of searching, found his favorite brand of vodka as well. I had it all wrapped nicely and looked forward to seeing his reaction on Christmas morning.

I also began to take notes in preparation for my next book. They covered various subjects, including life in Paris, homesickness, marriage and pregnancy, and Chloe's slow recovery from her devastating injuries. Amazed at the amount of material I'd gathered, I realized that I had enough for at least one book, possibly two. I decided that right after the holidays ended, I'd start compiling them into something publishable.

On the night of Christmas eve, Aleksandr and I sat up until about two or three in the morning watching the Bolshoi Ballet perform the 'Nutcracker Suite.' "I almost joined the Bolshoi Ballet myself once," he told me.

"So you can dance too?"

He laughed, then took off his shoes and demonstrated for me. I was completely blown over. The man danced just like a professional!

"Wow!" I enthused. "Why didn't you go into dancing instead of art?"

"The weekend before I was to try out, I sprained my ankle. I was devastated at the time, but only a few months later, I was accepted to the Russian Academy of Arts and never looked back."

"Maybe someday you can teach me to dance like that."

"It takes much hard work, Carrie. It can't be learned in just a few days." He smiled. "And besides, in a few more months, you're going to be quite busy with other things."

I rubbed my baby bump. "I can't wait!"

The following morning, I was awakened by the sensation of Aleksandr's lips caressing my face. "Happy Christmas, darling Carrie," he said.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," I murmured.

"I hope you like your presents. I chose them all myself, especially for you." He handed me a beautifully wrapped box, and I opened it to find the most gorgeous negligee I'd ever seen! It was red, with the shoulder straps and crotch made entirely of lace.

"Oh, I love it!" I gave him a big hug and kiss.

"There's more." The next present was a pair of boots made of genuine leather, and then he gave me a sable coat. "Try it on," he urged me. I did, and it fit perfectly.

After all that wealth and extravagance, I felt ashamed of the relatively simple and inexpensive presents I'd purchased for him. Hoping that he wouldn't be too disappointed, I presented them to him. He smiled when he saw the cuff links and the cologne, but his face really lit up at the sight of the vodka. "I haven't had this is years!" he exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it."

"I love it! Come," he said. "I've prepared a delicious breakfast for us."

"Wow!" was all I could say when I saw the mixture of French and Russian cuisine he had waiting. There were croissants, baguettes, fried eggs with sausage and dill on top, pancakes which Aleksandr called 'blini,' some little dumplings which he said were 'syrniki,' and many other things. "You really think we're gonna be able to eat all this?" I asked him, and he laughed and fed me a strawberry.

After breakfast, we cuddled together and talked and listened to music as soft snow fell against the windows. I was so comfortable and cozy that I never wanted to leave the sofa, but when afternoon arrived, I prepared a simple but elegant lunch for us. We were just finishing up when Ryan and Chloe arrived. She'd been released from the rehab center several weeks previously, and the two of them had moved in together to a modest two-bedroom apartment not far from our own. We were surprised and thrilled to see that Chloe was able to walk on crutches now.

Aleksandr laughed with joy as he hugged his daughter. "Seeing you walk again is the best Christmas present I could ever have received!"

"We got you something else as well," Chloe laughed.

He was happy to see the matching watch and wallet and pen they'd bought for him, and in turn Chloe seemed delighted with the genuine diamond earrings and necklace we'd bought her, and Ryan seemed to like the shirt and pants we'd bought him. They'd bought me the cutest little purse that was covered with buttons on one side. I loved it.

They visited for a couple of hours, and then my husband and I were left alone again. He poured us both a shot of the vodka I'd bought him, and he put on some romantic music and we danced together. "Do you remember the first time we danced together, Carrie?" he asked me as we slowly twirled around and around.

"How could I ever forget?" Tonight that seemed like a lifetime ago...


End file.
